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3 <br /> procuring all easements and rights of way and will continue to make best efforts at reaching <br /> blocked locations for five years after the completion of construction. <br /> The network will offer up to 2 gigabit per second (gbps) symmetrical fiber broadband internet <br /> access to every home and business passed. The minimum level service offered to each home <br /> and business will be 100 mbps symmetrical. <br /> The network covers all of the homes identified by the County as unserved with the exception <br /> of approximately twenty (20) households south of Chapel Hill. Since the North State project <br /> will not provide coverage in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, building the network out to these <br /> homes would add significant cost. Several other broadband providers serve this area, so a <br /> less expensive solution may be available given the proximity of these homes to Chapel Hill. <br /> Staff will examine alternatives to serve these homes. An additional unserved address <br /> identified by the County in the eastern portion of the County will be served by North State <br /> Communications through a construction project outside the scope of this agreement. <br /> 2. County Contribution and Timeline <br /> The cost to build the entire network is approximately $45 million. The agreement requires <br /> Orange County to pay up to $10 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ABPA) funds as a grant <br /> to North State in three installments: <br /> • $1,000,000 within 30 days of contract execution <br /> • $3,000,000 after enabling connections to 3,000 homes no later than December 31, 2023 <br /> • $6,000,000 after enabling connections to the remaining 6,898 homes no later than <br /> December 31, 2024 <br /> Some of the households defined as unserved are located in areas where a different provider <br /> was awarded Rural Digital Opportunity Funds (RDOF). State law currently prohibits the use <br /> of other State or Federal funding sources to be applied in areas where RDOF was awarded. <br /> Therefore, none of the County's funds will be used to serve households in those areas. <br /> However, North State will build the network and serve the homes in those areas using the <br /> company's own funds. A detailed timeline for construction activities is included in Attachment <br /> C. Assuming that the contract is executed by April 30, 2022, the construction timeline would <br /> make services available to homes according to the following schedule. <br /> Phase Homes Added Date <br /> 1 2,000 April 2023 <br /> 2 2,000 July 2023 <br /> 3 2,000 October 2023 <br /> 4 2,000 January 2024 <br /> 5 1,000 Aril 2024 <br /> 6 898 July 2024 <br /> TOTAL 9,898 <br /> 3. Reporting and Inspections <br /> North State Communications is required to provide at least monthly progress reports to the <br /> County. These reports will contain: <br />